All In Due Time
by Crystal Koneko
Summary: A drabble series focused on the slow progression of a possible relationship between Hiei and Botan with the use of weekly prompts.
1. Of Evil Whistles and Ferry Girls

Disclaimer: I do not own Yu Yu Hakusho or any of its characters.

Hello all! Since I can't seem to get motivated at all to finish my one-shot or chapter story at the moment, I decided to attempt to get myself into writing again by doing a drabble series. These will all be based off of prompts from a livejournal community called Writer's Choice, and should be updated every week (no promises).

Before we get started, for those of you looking for some great Hiei/Botan stories to read, I urge you to check out Mystikoorime's profile. I love her and her work.

Prompt: Summons

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**All in Due Time**: _Of Evil Whistles and Ferry Girls_

Hiei wanted to kill her. That's all there was to it. If he heard that obnoxious whistle one more time while he was trying to sleep, it would be the end of that idiot ferry girl. He didn't appreciate being expected to serve her or that toddler prince's every need and whim. Growling, he flitted to her position in the forest to meet her, while covering his aching ears.

"Hn, are you trying to get yourself slaughtered again, woman?"

Smiling as always, Botan shook her head. This annoyed him, as always, and he managed to snarl out a demand to know what she wanted instead of giving in to the temptation to strangle her – as always.

"Err… Oh jeez, I'm so sorry! I've completely forgotten!"

Yes, Hiei wanted to kill her.

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Reviews are much appreciated. :)


	2. Obvious Spy is Obvious

Alright, a little bit early but that's always a good thing! Leave a review if you can, please!

Prompt: Magazine

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**All In Due Time**: _Obvious Spy is Obvious_

Botan's eyes shifted back and forth as she sat on the bench, her face hidden behind a dirty magazine she found lying on the ground. The brown trench coat adorned on her shoulders slipped down to one side; it was way too big for her. She straightened as Hiei walked by without even glancing in her direction.

Ha! Botan celebrated silently, she knew he would never recognize her like this! Looking around, she frowned as she realized she had lost the small demon during her merriment. And… what was that shadow blocking everything, including the sun, in front of her?

Looking up, the ferry girl gulped, "H-Hiei?"

"You're a fool if you think an obvious disguise like that would deceive me, woman. I'm not that idiot detective and his buffoon sidekick. Now why have you been following me all day? And don't lie, unless you have a death wish."

"I, umm, well I-"

"Today, ferry girl."

Nervously, Botan blurted out, "Lord Koenma sent me to watch you and make sure you're not hurting anyone while you're on probation!"

Hiei glared at the woman in front of him, once again resisting the urge to strangle her. There was nothing he could do about it. Turning around, he walked away and decided to give her a piece of advice, "Hn. Don't be so obvious next time."


	3. Probably the Second One

Welcome back, readers! Here's the next installment of this lovely little series. For those of you reading and favoriting, _please drop a review_. They're like food to a starving writer!

On a completely different note, I will attempt to edit some of my old stories and continue with Wild Goose Chase, and then finish my Naruto one-shot… one of these days.

Prompt: Forward

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**All In Due Time**: _Probably the Second One_

Hiei had gotten used to her presence, unfortunately. To be honest she was around more than he ever wanted her to be in a life time. But, just his luck, Koenma really did have her watching him while he was on probation. A lot.

The blue-haired woman constantly followed him around, blabbering on about things he hardly listened to or cared about. Hiei had almost snapped a few times, so tempted to break her neck, but recently he just accepted his terrible fate.

Today, she had taken to chattering about Yukina and Kuwabara. He was almost on his last nerve when she finally asked, "Hmm, Hiei. When do you think you're ever going to tell Yukina you're her brother? Aw, you could walk her down the aisle when her and Kuwabara get married! I really think you should let her know, I don't know what you're so worried ab-"

"Don't you have a job to do, ferry girl? Shut you're damn mouth and do it! I don't care what you think and I don't want to hear the stupid things you tell me," He roared, and walked away, trying not to be bothered by the shocked look on her face.

That woman was getting too bold with him lately and he didn't like it. She was either extremely courageous or a complete idiot. Probably the second one.


	4. In Which Botan is a Pain in the Ass

Bonjour! Here's our next installment. I'm actually surprised I'm keeping up with this. I would like to thank the few of you who took the time to review. So, thank you. (:

I know we've had a lot of Hiei's POV, so we'll get some more Botan soon! And I figured I should mention in case anyone was wondering, yes, this is set after the Dark Tournament and will soon be moving into the Sensui case.

Prompt: Magnet

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**All in Due Time:** _In Which Botan is a Pain in the Ass_

Hiei had started to notice one very annoying thing about Botan - more annoying than her always cheery smile, loud mouth, and pink kimono. The woman just happened to attract trouble like bees to honey. Her watching over him for his probation had somehow turned into him babysitting her.

Being completely honest with himself, Hiei did not know why he kept saving the pathetic girl. But for some reason every time danger came her way, he took care of it. He knew he should just let whatever was after her next kill her, then she would be out of his hair forever and Koenma would have no way to blame him for it, but he just couldn't do it.

Pain in the ass ferry girl.

The fire demon sighed to himself as he watched Botan dashing through the forest on her oar, her pursuer hot on her heels. Unsheathing his sword, Hiei grumbled an irritated, "Of course," before chasing after them.


	5. Balls of Fluff

Rawrr, forgive me for the late chapter! Many, many thanks to Mystikoorime, Princess, and Alleluia Elizabeth for the reviews.

Prompt: Belief

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**All in Due Time:** _Balls of Fluff_

Botan was under the impression that Hiei was a changed demon; that was her official statement. She had just given Koenma her report of her observations of him the past few months. Not once had he hurt a human, and he had come to her rescue quite a few times. Of course, he was just as scary as ever, but she didn't tell Koenma that. She knew he was a little rough on the exterior (to say the least), but deep down he was just a big ball of fluff!

Looking around suspiciously, she made sure Hiei wasn't somehow reading her thoughts. Surely he would be angry if he knew she thought that! Sighing with relief when a sword wasn't pressed to her throat, Botan nodded as Koenma informed her of the next case her favorite team would take on, and the assignment that was specifically for her.

Get Hiei to help them with Sensui, in exchange for an end to his probation. Seems that she wouldn't be getting that vacation she wanted after all, especially considering how long it would take her to get her favorite closet-ball-of-fluff to assist the Spirit World.


	6. Popsicle Hearts

Sorry for the delay! Thanks again to the lovely few of you that review. Enjoy this chapter.

Prompt: Frozen

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**All In Due Time:** _Popsicle Hearts_

Botan huffed in frustration, flying towards Yusuke's school. She should have known Hiei would be as difficult as ever. Huffing again, Botan noticed Yusuke's school come into view before directing her oar downwards angrily, "Incorrigible demon!"

Doing her best to perk up for Yusuke, Botan plastered a smile on her face in spite of her aggravation. She had found Hiei in the park he was always in, expecting things to go her way. She thought he would surely help them out in the Sensui case in exchange for his freedom.

Botan had been wrong. Hiei had not changed or been reformed. He did not want to work with the spirit detectives - he had refused the mission. Thinking about it, she shouldn't have been so surprised. He may be a fire demon, but his mother was a koorime, and his heart is as cold as the icy island he was exiled from.


	7. Invasion of Space

Ahh, I'm a little late getting this out again! Thank you very much sestrilla, princess, alleluiaelizabeth, and mystikoorime for your reviews. They really keep me going~!

Prompt: Bubble

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**All in Due Time:** _Invasion of Space_

Botan had been quite surprised when Hiei had shown up to help rescue Yusuke at that weird house, but did her best not to wonder how he'd been convinced to aid them when she hadn't been able to do so. While wandering through the hallways, she couldn't help but feel a little insulted. Botan had thought they had maybe come to a sort of understanding while he'd been on probation, maybe even a weird friendship of sorts. Had she been wrong?

All those annoying thoughts soon came to a halt during Kaito's game of Taboo. Quickly, she found herself more worried as Hiei's soul was taken from him. The ferry girl scrambled to keep his body safe, and moved his head to her lap. The first time they touched was not extraordinary, or breath taking, or anything like those lovey-dovey romance-y moments you see in movies. Botan simply hoped he would not chop her arms off when he found out she was invading his proverbial bubble.

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Reviews are appreciated, as always.


	8. Empty Threats and Little Secrets

I apologize for the lateness! School and work took over my life for a little while there. I'll get back on schedule now. Thanks, again, for the reviews guys!

On another note, after this chapter (possibly the next instead), I will most likely stay away from any events in the series. So after this, I'm skipping past the Makai Tournament and going to my own events once again.

Prompt: Tag

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**All in Due Time:** _Empty Threats and Little Secrets_

The second time they touched was even less phenomenal than the first. In fact, it was rather scary. Not that the first time hadn't been scary, Botan thought, considering his soul had been taken along with her own afterward. But this time it was scary for an entirely different reason!

This time, he threatened to break her wrist! But she had just been trying to help. Perhaps trying to put that tag on him had been a bit of a bad idea, though. She should have known, really, but she was the team trainer and she had to take every precaution she could to keep her boys safe! Hiei just didn't understand.

Botan shuddered. If he had grabbed her wrist and threatened to break it this time, she could only imagine what he would do if he found out about the last time they'd come in contact.


	9. Her Broken Toys

It was really nice to see some new names in the reviews, and of course nice to see the old ones. Thanks much, guys.

Prompt: Gadget

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**All in Due Time:** _Her Broken Toys_

Somehow, Hiei couldn't find it in himself to be surprised. It had been a few years since he had last seen any of the Reikai Tantei after he had been stationed with Mukuro - a few years of peace away from the cheerful countenance of the ferry girl (and all of the other fools he would never admit to being friends with) and all the bothersome situations she put herself in.

So, of course, when he came across her while on border patrol for Mukuro, she would be in some sort of trouble. Hiei had half a mind to just run off in the other direction before she even noticed him. But watching her fumble around nervously with another one of her useless gadgets, all alone in the Demon World, he found that he couldn't. Instead, he begrudgingly walked up to her before she managed to get herself eaten by one of the many demons around the portal they happened to be near.

"What is a weakling like you doing here all by yourself, woman?"

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Happy Holidays!


	10. So we meet again

This one is a lot longer than usual, but don't get used to it! It's a continuation of the last chapter. And actually has some more dialogue! Joy!

Prompt: News

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**All in Due Time:** _So we meet again_

"H-Hiei?" Botan gasped and stopped fumbling with her communicator as she heard a familiar, malevolent voice behind her. Spinning around, she dropped it in shock before taking in the demon in front of her, her mouth slightly ajar.

The ferry girl had not heard anything from him in years, not that she expected to. Of course, she had rummaged through his files to see any news of him, like she did with all her boys. Botan couldn't say she quite missed the demon, but he did cross her mind every once in a while. Especially when she went to visit Yukina at Genkai's temple and saw her strikingly similar eyes…

Hiei scoffed at the stunned woman before stepping on the broken communicator and crushing it under his boot, "Hn. Even after all this time you carry such useless contraptions with you."

"Hey, you jerk! That's property of the Spirit World! You can't just break it! And what in the world are you doing here?" Botan squealed and dropped to the ground, pushing his foot out of the way to try and salvage her only way of contacting Koenma.

Turning his head to the side, showing the woman that he hardly cared, he stared off into the woods and replied, "It was already broken anyway. Not that I owe any explanations to you, but I was patrolling the borders."

Botan stared for another second before breaking into a bright smile, "Aw, you saw me and came to rescue me! How sweet! Koenma sent me here to investigate something weird going on with the portals between worlds, and when I tried to go back, I couldn't. Now I'm stranded here and can't get in touch with anyone."

Hiei turned to look back at the woman with a pointed glare and ignored her first remark, "Hn. Follow me. Before you get yourself eaten," he told her before walking past her, expecting her to tag along and annoy the hell out of him with her big mouth on the way to their location.

She did.


	11. Hiding Spots

Excuse the lateness! Thanks to those of you who reviewed. They keep me going, especially with this fandom being so dead.

Prompt: Doorway

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**All in Due Time:** _Hiding Spots_

Botan listened in on their conversation, attempting to be as silent as a mouse, looking in on them from the slightly ajar door. Mukuro stood tall over Hiei, speaking to him quietly but angry. The ferry girl had a hard time making out what she was saying, but she seemed to catch the gist of it.

Mukuro hardly appreciated her second in command bringing one of Koenma's "haughty little angels" into her fortress. While Botan understood her lack of approval for the situation, she did feel slightly insulted. Not everyone in Spirit World thought they were better than everyone else! She certainly didn't. The blue-haired woman silently vowed to prove otherwise to the powerful demon.

Botan heard Mukuro finally ask Hiei _what_ he could have been thinking. She sort of wondered the same thing too – but she knew Hiei's twisted honor code would never let him leave her there. He answered Mukuro with an irritated "Hn," before walking towards the door and ending the conversation. The ferry girl quickly scrambled away from the door and hid in a dark corner, hoping Hiei wouldn't notice her as he walked by.

She grinned as he sauntered past her as if she wasn't there. She was getting good at this! About to move from her spot in the corner, the smile dropped from her face as Hiei used his demonic speed to move next to her and picked her up by the scruff of her collar, "What did I tell you about being so obvious?"


	12. Rumors, Rumors, in the Hall

When I had planned this drabble series, I hadn't planned it actually taking up a plot. I'm kind of surprised at the way it turned out, but I hope you guys are enjoying it. Review, review!

Prompt: Judge

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**All in Due Time:** _Rumors, Rumors, in the Hall_

Botan followed behind Hiei nervously as he walked her to the room that would now be hers for the duration of her stay in the fortress. Not only was she positive she would get lost once she left her room, but everyone that they passed by on the way gave her the dirtiest looks she'd ever seen. And she thought Hiei was scary! She was positive they wanted to eat her.

Hiei seemed completely unaffected by all of this, as expected. He remained silent and didn't say a word to her nor the frightening demons they came across. He did not seem to care that they would love to stick her head on a pole and send it back to Koenma if given the chance. He also did not seem to care about the whispering or the rumors sure to be spread about her presence and the protection he offered her.

She frowned as he deposited her at the door and walked off without saying anything to her. Botan was starting to think he hardly cared about her either. But then why did he rescue her and bring her here?


	13. When it Rains, it Pours

I must admit, I was quite discouraged when I have so many favorites and alerts on this story, and only received one review for the previous chapter. I apologize for being so late, but I honestly wasn't motivated to write.

Prompt: Umbrella

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**All in Due Time:** _When it Rains, it Pours_

Hiei glared at an underling as they walked by in the vast court yard, as he had been doing for the past few days. Normally he would just ignore them, but ever since the woman had shown up, he felt the need to shield her from the nasty things some would say or even the violence they intended to commit against her being.

At the moment, she dutifully sat quite a few yards away as he trained, watching him as he danced with his blade. When she got bored she would either stare up at the clouds, pick at the grass, or go off playing with plants and other such things she shouldn't be playing with.

Oddly enough none of this bothered him. Oddly enough she did not babble on for once in her life (if you could call it that). Oddly enough, he enjoyed the oddly quiet times they would spend together. It made him want to shelter her from harm even more.


	14. Tea Parties

Ahhh, it's so hard for me to keep these short! Damn drabble series.

Prompt: Lunch

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**All in Due Time:** _Tea Parties_

Botan was feeling quite awkward and out of place.

The past week or so, every day at noon, she had tea with Mukuro. The first time, she had been beyond surprised. Mukuro had shown up – without a request from Botan – and the two sat quietly sipping their tea. The ferry girl had been nervous, but quite pleased nonetheless. This was her chance to prove to Mukuro that Spirit World wasn't so bad!

The second day, Botan chattered on about every possible thing she could think of that might interest the strong woman. Mukuro did not respond, only listened. The third day, Mukuro had actually indulged Botan in conversation and had continued doing so there after. Botan was sure Mukuro still thought of her as too annoying, weak, and bubbly, but it was progress. She just wasn't sure what Mukuro's motives were. Willingly spending time with a ferry girl? Absurd!

But today, Hiei had joined them. This left Botan unusually quiet. She stared down at her tea, not sipping at all. Mukuro and Hiei were shooting each other looks – silent conversation; perhaps telepathy. She felt left out. The third wheel. It put her stomach in knots.

Perhaps it was time to pester Hiei into trying harder to contact Koenma so she could go back to where she belonged. It was not here, between the two of them, in Demon World.


	15. You can run, but You can't hide

Prompt: Cat and Mouse

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**All in Due Time:** _You can run, but You can't hide  
_

Botan was frustrating Hiei. Of course, Botan always annoyed Hiei. But this time was different. This time, she was avoiding him. And it was frustrating. The ferry girl did not sit and watch him train like always. When he sought her out, she came up with excuses like she had to go comb her hair or was needed in the kitchen to help cut things (which was clearly a lie because if that were the case she'd have lost nine fingers by now).

When Botan finally ran out of excuses and Hiei finally managed to catch her, she was abnormally silent. Which again, frustrated Hiei. What was with the stupid girl? She'd been avoiding him for days and for once had nothing to say. What the hell was her problem?

Growling, Hiei grabbed her by the shoulders and shook her lightly, "Woman, why have you been evading me?"


	16. The Cat is out of the Bag

Ahh, the lack of response from you guys worries me! I have plans for this drabble series, so stay tuned. And, surprise! A long one - kind of.

Prompt: Reason

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**All in Due Time:** _The Cat is out of the Bag_

Botan squirmed out of Hiei's grasp, taking a few steps back from him. She looked away, avoiding his probing eyes and thanked the Heavens he decided not to invade her privacy for once and use his Jagan on her. Trying to think of a good answer for him, she was startled when a loud 'POP' sounded behind her. Turning around, she stuttered a moment when Koenma appeared before running over to him and hugging him tightly, laughing excitedly, "Koenma-sir! You're here!"

Hiei watched grumpily a few feet away, cursing the toddler's timing. He wanted answers, and now he would never get them. Walking over to them, Hiei pulled Botan away by the back of her kimono and ended the happy reunion.

"Hn. Prince," he greeted.

Koenma gave Hiei an odd look and shook his head, turning to Botan, "Well, I sure am surprised to find you here with Hiei. I'm sorry it took so long to come get you. The portals have been acting up and this is the first time we could get through. I came myself to make sure you're alright."

"Surprised… to find me with Hiei?" Botan blinked and looked back and forth between the two, "You mean Hiei didn't contact you telepathically to tell you where I was?"

"No?"

Botan quickly spun to glare at Hiei, and poked him hard in the chest, "What in the world does he mean you didn't contact him, Mister! I can't believe you would do that. Why didn't you tell him I was here?"


	17. Awkward Situations

Thanks for the review guys, keep it up! I am determined to get to 100 before this comes to an end (which it may not for a while – I am very undecided despite my plans).

Prompt: Want

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**All in Due Time: **_Awkward Situations_

Hiei scoffed and swatted Botan's hand away, glaring at Koenma for being such a fool and making the damn woman screech at him, "I never agreed to talk to the Prince for you. I merely said that you could remain here for the duration of your time in the Demon World so that you wouldn't get yourself killed."

"Hiei, that's not very nice of you at all! You knew I've been trying to contact the Spirit World and I thought you were helping me. The faster they got here, the faster I would be out of yours and Mukuro's hair!" Botan reprimanded, frowning not only at the fact that her friend had not helped her, but also that she always seemed to be in his way.

His red eyes widened slightly and he looked away like he always did when he felt uncomfortable or thought what you were saying wasn't worth his time. Botan, being the nosy and prying girl she was, knew which one it was by now. Hiei was uncomfortable.

"Hn."

Had he… tried to keep her here?


	18. A Little Confuzzled

I just realized I accidentally misspelled the title in the last chapter. How embarrassing. But thanks (again) for the reviews guys. They really make my day. It sort of inspires me to pop out new chapters at an alarming rate. I had this written days ago. o_o

Anyway, I thought this chapter might be a nice little break from our regular points of view.

Prompt: Unknown

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**All in Due Time: **_A Little Confuzzled_

Koenma was confused as hell. Since when did Hiei not threaten to kill Botan for touching him? Since when was Botan not afraid of Hiei? Since when did Hiei let Botan stay with him while she was stuck in Demon World? Since when did either of them act like this was _normal_?

Aghh! He was so, so confused. Maybe this wasn't the actual Botan and Hiei had done something evil with her – maybe he had her locked up in some dungeons and was torturing her and cutting her open! Because, this? This could not possibly be real. He knew that after reading Botan's report on Hiei's probation that the two could possibly be friends (although the only thing he thought about it was that Hiei held a sword to her throat while she wrote it). But it was just too hard to believe.

Squinting his eyes at the two of them as they talked, he finally decided to put an end to this madness! Koenma pushed up in between the two and grabbed the ferry girl's arm, "Botan, it's time to go. I don't know what the heck is going on here but I think maybe the air in Demon World has fogged your head or something. Get in the portal."


	19. Bitter Sweet

Excuse the lateness. I had to get a new laptop and have been ridiculously sick, so! Thanks, as always, to those that took the time to review.

Prompt: Feel

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**All in Due Time:** _Bitter Sweet_

Botan wasn't sure how she was supposed to feel as Koenma dragged her towards the portal. All she knew was that she couldn't let him take her away just like that! She didn't get to say goodbye to Hiei, or even thank him for helping her out. Pulling her arm out of Koenma's grasp, she stopped him in his tracks, "Wait, Koenma-sama!"

"Botan, what are you doing? We need to get out of here as soon as possible. Before you start going insane or chewing your arm off or something like that!" Koenma pressed, and Botan blinked at him a few times. She wasn't really sure what had gotten into the prince of the Spirit World, but she would have to think about it later. Right now, she had to say goodbye.

"Just give me two minutes, I'll be back in a jiffy!" The ferry girl exclaimed and turned around to run back to Hiei's side. But he wasn't there.


	20. Everything is Fine

Blaah, this sickness is killing me! Thanks to all my reviewers, as always. I usually only reply to ones with questions that I feel need to be answered, but I always appreciate the ones I don't reply to either.

Prompt: Ache

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**All in Due Time:**_ Everything is Fine_

Returning to Spirit World, Botan instantly threw herself into her regular duties there, ferrying more souls between worlds than ever. She tried her hardest not to think about the Demon World, and why Hiei left like that. She did her best not to wonder what Mukuro thought of her, leaving the first chance she got without thanking them for keeping her safe.

Botan worked harder than ever to ignore the dull throb in her chest whenever she felt like she was missing something. Perhaps Koenma was right, and the air in the Demon World had fogged her brain or something like that. Because, what could she possibly be missing? She had everything she needed here. A job, a place to stay, friends...

"Botan! Are you listening to me?"

Shaking herself out of her thoughts at the sound of her boss' voice, Botan nodded furiously and plastered a smile on her face, ignoring the disapproving frown Koenma was accustomed to giving her lately when he caught her staring off into space. What was bothering her?


	21. Hiei, weak? Pffft, Never

Oops, late again! More real-life issues going on, sorry about that. Keep up the reviews guys, I'll be at my goal soon.

Prompt: Machine

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**All in Due Time:**_ Hiei, weak? Pffft, Never_

Hiei growled to himself, hacking through another demon he came across on border patrol. Why the hell was that stupid blue-haired woman invading his thoughts? He could hardly make a proper slice - he'd never surpass Mukuro like this. He was born a killing machine, why couldn't he concentrate?

Tossing his sword to the ground in frustration, Hiei sat down next to it and glared at the nearest tree. That hair-brained idiot just would not get out of his head. He was feeling... guilty. Only that stupid woman would ever make him feel such a stupid emotion. He, Hiei, wielder of the Jagan and master of the Dragon of the Darkness Flame, never regrets anything. Regret is for weaklings. Was he really so soft? Surely not.

Ugh, he groaned to himself. He could not help it - he felt bad about how he left. Hiei knew that the ferry girl would want to say goodbye, but for some reason, he didn't think he could watch her go.

What is_ wrong_ with him?


	22. Intervention

Almooost at 100! Keep 'em coming guys.

Prompt: Melt

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**All in Due Time:** _Intervention_

Mukuro had been watching her charge very carefully since the departure of the ferry girl. At first, she had thought perhaps it was a silly infatuation that he would get over quickly enough. Now, she could see that this was not the case. And his distraction simply would not do. He hadn't even been able to get one hit in on her today.

Stopping in the middle of their spar, she held her hand up for him to stop what he was doing. Sticking his sword into the ground, Hiei looked at the woman with a questioning gaze, "Explain why you have stopped."

"Your head is not in this anymore. Resolve whatever issue you are having with that twit and do it quickly. Your poor concentration is unacceptable. We will not continue to spar until you have done so, you will never beat me like this," Mukuro told him, turning her back to him and walking away.

She knew the look he was sending her right now could zap an army and turn them all into mush, but she simply smirked and kept walking.


	23. Desperate Times

I apologize for this being sort of late again. Although this is updated weakly, there are more than enough prompts to use, and I'm hoping to start updating more than once a week soon. Don't forget to give me your feedback, guys! I love it.

And how annoying! The title of my chapter won't fit on the site.

Prompt: Plan

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**All in Due Time:** _Desperate Times Call for Desperate Measures_

Hiei paced back and forth near the portal he knew to be the way to the Spirit World. He was more than capable of breaking through it, but the only problem was he knew they were still acting up. He wondered if somebody was somehow tampering with them, but he would not waste his time looking into it. That's what Koenma was for. If he broke into the Spirit World and somehow ended up stuck there with all those idiots... the thought of it would make a weaker demon shudder.

It was idiotic in the first place, to even be pondering visiting that dumb woman. Why did her absence bother him so? She was merely an annoying acquaintance that only served to make his life more miserable. It hardly mattered. He would see her as Mukuro had ordered, lest he not want to fight anymore. Then he would leave as soon as possible.

His course of action clear in mind, he made his decision, and jumped into the portal.


	24. More Trouble Than She's Worth

Blah, too much real-life drama. :/ It's so hard for me to even update this drabble series let alone any of the other things I wanted to finish. But this one is somewhat longer than usual to make up for it!

Anyway! I love my reviewers. I just want you all to know that. You keep me motivated.

Prompt: Trouble

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**All in Due Time:** _More Trouble Than She's Worth_

The ferry girl was definitely not worth all the trouble he was going through for her. Breaking into Spirit World (again) by the means of a fussy portal? Ludicrous. And he didn't even plan on stealing anything this time. Hiei was certainly feeling more pathetic by the second. Flitting silently through the corridors, nothing but a blur to anyone he happened to pass, he easily located Botan with his Jagan. She was flying some little girl back to the River Styx on her oar. Annoying. He would need to wait for her. As always, he was not surprised.

Moving into the shadows, Hiei waited until a weak looking ogre passed and pulled him into the darkness, pressing his sword on to his neck he snarled, "Tell me where the woman's room is."

"W-what?"

"The ridiculously happy ferry girl that wouldn't know common sense if it slapped her in the face, with her too bright blue hair, much too pink clothing with eyes to match, and disgustingly cheery demeanor. Tell me where her room is now!"

Gulping against the blade to his neck, the ogre managed a strangled, "Botan? Her r-room is t-that way. With the pink d-door," he pointed down a large hall.

She _would_ have a pink door, Hiei scoffed to himself. Pushing the ogre back into the light, Hiei left him with a promise of pain if he ever mentioned what just happened, and continued his trek to Botan's room.


	25. Surprise!

I'm so proud! 100 reviews was a lot more than I imagined when I started this little drabble series, with the YYH fandom dying out (d00d it came out in like 1993 I think) and so little H/B fans. So I really want to thank each and everyone of you for the support and your continued reading. And of course a special thanks to Mystikoorime for my 100th review, which is only fitting, because we've been friends since I even started writing years ago. Thank youuu, dahlin'!

For all my amazing reviewers, a long chapter for you. But not too long, unfortunately. This is a drabble series, after all!

Prompt: Dive

* * *

**All in Due Time:** _Surprise!_

Botan heaved a sigh of relief as she opened the pink door to her room. She had been so busy lately! She was absolutely drained at the moment after ferrying so many souls. Of course, she had wanted it that way to keep her mind off of the ache she just couldn't seem to get to go away, but her mind always tended to wander nonetheless. Why did Hiei just leave like that? Did he really not consider her a friend? But then, why did he try and keep her there? And what were he and Mukuro to each other? She could never compare to such a powerful woman..

Shaking her head, Botan shut the door quietly and flopped onto her bed without turning on the lights. It was relaxing to just stare out the window and look at the sky so late at night. But something in the corner caught her eye as the light from the sky shined on it. Something red, and glowing... Gasping, Botan realized she was not alone and dove for her door, trying to open it and run out for help. Her efforts were in vain. A strong hand pressed the door shut and try as she might to pull it open, Botan could do nothing.

"Woman, quit your useless pulling and turn around."

Gasping once again at the familiar and worryingly comforting voice (she shouldn't be so happy to hear it!), Botan spun around and gleefully attacked him with a huge hug she was sure he would not appreciate and might get her fingers chopped off for. Hiei stood surprisingly still for a few moments before pushing her off of him and glaring at her. Too happy to care, she smiled at him and asked, "Hiei, what in the three worlds are you doing here in my room?"

"Hn."

How could he possibly tell her that he couldn't get her stupid grin out of his mind and could hardly concentrate on killing a damn thing until he had gotten here? Or that he actually felt bad about something he had done? Nope, that would just go to her head and make her start thinking he cared or something like that, and Hiei absolutely couldn't have something as annoying as that happen.

"Oh, you're so difficult! That doesn't explain anything at all! Uh oh, does Lord Koenma know you're here? If Lord Enma finds out he'll have a fit. That won't do at all. You'd probably end up in prison again. We don't want that, now do we? OH! I completely forgot! I'm so mad at you! Why did you leave like that?"

Hiei resisted the urge to roll his eyes. He should have known coming here was a bad idea. All she could do was prattle on about nothing and waste his time like always. Ignoring her question, he walked towards the window and stared out before asking, "You have a question you have yet to answer for me. Tell me why you tried so hard to hide from me."


	26. Saved by the Bell, err, Ogre

Well, once again real life got to me, mixed in with a bit of writer's block. Hopefully I can keep on schedule this time.

Prompt: Open

* * *

**All in Due Time: **_Saved by the Bell, err, Ogre_

Botan flushed immediately at Hiei's question, and she quickly turned around in hopes that he may not see. Who knew how well those demon eyes worked in the dark? Much better than hers, at least. How could she possibly open up and tell him she was afraid? Afraid of why she'd felt so left out when Mukuro was around, afraid she might not measure up. It was ridiculous, really. She just couldn't figure out what had gotten into her and she knew it would be no help to clue Hiei in.

"Oh, Hiei, don't be silly! I wasn't avoiding you. Why would I ever do such a thing?" She laughed nervously, moving her hand up to her face and making her signature pawing motion.

Hiei grunted at her stupid antics and pulled his bandanna off, revealing his Jagan to the ferry girl. If she would not tell him, he would just find the answers himself, "Hn. You cannot lie to me, woman."

Botan squealed and dove away from him and behind the chair in her room in a wasted effort to hide from his Jagan, "Please, Hiei, invading my privacy isn't very-" The blue haired woman was cut off by a loud knock on her door. They both turned towards the source and Botan gulped but did not dare answer, for she didn't want to get Hiei in trouble for being here.

On the other side of the door, the voice of George erupted, "Miss Botan, I know you're in there! Koenma has summoned you to his office immediately. And bring Hiei with you!"

Well this certainly couldn't be good.


	27. The Tangled Webs We Weave

Ha! So now that I got past that nasty bit of writer's block, I have a little inspiration again and actually managed to get this done early. Thank you for the reviews, I know the last chapter was quite late.

Prompt: Web

* * *

**All in Due Time: **_These Tangled Webs We Weave_

The walk to Koenma's office was made in silence. Hiei because he was always quiet, and Botan because she wasn't quite sure what kind of trouble she was about to get in, nor was she really sure what Hiei was even doing in Spirit World in the first place. He'd come to see her, but why? It made no sense, really. He didn't even like her. He thought she was annoying and an idiot. Which she may be, but idiot or not, she knew this was highly unusual. Reaching the tall doors to the office, she took a deep breath and pushed them open.

"Ah, Botan, Hiei. You're finally here," Koenma said as the two stood in front of his desk. Rummaging through some papers, he sucked furiously on his pacifier as he felt the fire demon's glare upon him. Clearing his throat, he turned his attention to them, "I'm not going to ask what you were doing here in Spirit World without permission again, Hiei, let alone in Botan's room. However, you have broken the law and that cannot go unpunished or my father would have my neck. Seeing as nothing has been stolen this time and imprisoning you would most likely start a war with Mukuro, I have a better idea. This portal situation is getting out of control. Since the both of you have a lot of experience with portals, it's your job to find out who and what is causing the problem and to eliminate it. You may ask the old team for help if you need it. Dismissed."

With that, Koenma returned to rummaging and stamping his papers, Botan bit her lip warily, and Hiei growled menacingly. He knew coming here was terrible idea. Doing anything that involved this woman was a terrible idea. And now he was caught doing Koenma's stupid bidding once _again_.


	28. Progress, Sort of

Well, I can't exactly apologize for how late this has been. Life has been completely hectic and dramatic and I haven't had time. I hope you stick around and keep responding anyway, but updates might be a little sporadic from here on out. Thanks to Mystikoorime for always encouraging me to keep going, you're the best! She has an amazing Dark Tournament fic out right now, you should check it out if you haven't!

Prompt: Fate

* * *

**All in Due Time: **_Progress. Sort of._

By another horrible twist of fate, Hiei found himself stuck with the ferry girl. Koenma had the ogre provide them with a working portal back to Demon World, and they now trekked along to the main portals to investigate. Hiei didn't know what was worse, her investigatory skills or the quiet awkwardness she held around him when they were not questioning demons (threatening, in Hiei's case) or searching for clues. He never thought he'd see the day he wished she would open her big fat mouth again.

He could only assume she was doing her best to avoid having anything to do with answering his question. For now, he would relent and let it pass. When the time came, he would be ready to strike again. But at the moment, he needed to find a way to make her stop acting so... annoyingly perplexing. Damn, this woman was always grating on his nerves.

"Hn. At the rate you're going, we might as well go to the Human World and have that Buffoon replace you. How you've been that Toddler's top ferry girl is beyond me. Actually, I'm not surprised. The incompetency of the Spirit World never ceases to amaze me."

The woman gawked at him for a moment before her face quickly flushed in anger and she jabbed her finger at him, "We most certainly do not need his help! I am more than capable enough to do my job, mister! How dare you, Hiei. All you do is scare everyone into telling you what you want to know. And Spirit World is more than competent, seeing as we had you locked up for how long!"

Scowling at the mention of his imprisonment, he scoffed at her, "I do what works. You've done us absolutely no good so far. You are completely lacking in interrogation skills, among many other things. And your precious Spirit World did nothing. The only reason I ended up there is because of that idiot detective, nothing else."

Glaring at her new "partner", Botan huffed and turned away, walking ahead of him furiously. Why had she felt so bad about not getting to say goodbye to him, again? Certainly not for his amazing personality and charm! While she continued along, Hiei nearly rolled his eyes before walking up to her and pushing her to the side and turning to the left, "You're going the wrong way, Woman."

They had a_ long_ case ahead of them.


	29. Break Through

Thank you to those of you who reviewed and are sticking with me despite the iffy updating. And thank you to AlleluiaElizabeth for pointing out a few things that need correcting.

Prompt: Supernatural

* * *

**All in Due Time: **_Break Through_

Nearly two weeks since the start of the mission, and still Botan and Hiei had barely anything to go on. They were nearing one of the last portals in Demon World that they had not checked yet. Information had been scarce and tempers had been on high. So far, it was a wonder to Botan that Hiei hadn't snapped her neck yet. She sure had tried to crack his skull open with her oar.

They had never fought this much at Mukuro's castle, or been so angry at each other. And she certainly had never been so bold as to try and hit Hiei before. She wasn't quite sure what was wrong with them. Perhaps Hiei was angry because she wouldn't answer his question. And well, his attitude was making her angry!

Stopping suddenly and feeling a little woozy, Botan grabbed Hiei's shoulder so she wouldn't fall over, "There's something wrong with this place, Hiei. It... it doesn't feel right."

"Hn. What are you on about, woman? I don't feel anything."

"No, there's something very wrong. There's a lot of spiritual unrest, like something bad has been happening here, a lot of death."

Well, that would explain why he couldn't feel anything. Hiei may be a demon, but he had nothing to do with souls, ghosts, or anything spiritual. Except the part where he kills things.

"Good. Let's keep going, then. This is what we've been looking for."


	30. Blown Covers

Prompt: Blown

Don't forget to review, my lovelies.

* * *

**All in Due Time: **_Blown Covers_

Hiei completely blamed that dumb ferry girl for the situation they were in right now. She couldn't just listen to him for once, and now they were being hunted. Seeing a ball of energy gaining on Botan, Hiei quickly fissured to where she was and picked her up, jumping out of the way right before the blast hit her. Gasping in shock, Botan grabbed onto his cloak and craned her neck to look over his shoulder.

Grunting in his usual annoyance at her weakness, the dark haired man made his way to the trees, disappearing among the branches and losing the group of demons after them, "If you had just listened to me for once, woman, instead of insisting on nicely asking every demon we came across if they had any idea what was going on, none of this would have happened."

Huffing and sticking her nose in the air, Botan crossed her arms over her chest and snapped, "Well your way wasn't working either, Hiei! Your icky eye was unusable in the barrier and beating everyone to an unconscious pulp before we got answers hardly got us anywhere!"

A small silence passed between the two before Hiei dropped her. Glaring up at him, she asked, "What was that for?"

"Hn. Don't call my eye icky."


	31. Team Meetings

Ugh, I used to like where this was going and now I hate it. To be honest I'd like to go back and delete a few chapters and start over, but it's too late now. Hopefully the rest of you like where this is going instead. Here is a long one for you all.

Prompt: soured

* * *

**All in Due Time:** _Team Meetings_

Luckily finding a working portal less than a day away from the last, Hiei and Botan landed themselves in the Human World. They would, despite Hiei's wish for it not to be so, need help. Hiei was powerful, but the portal had been surrounded by too many demons and a strange barrier. Not to mention he had to keep that dead weight ferry girl alive. He cursed Mukuro for making him see her. Sitting in the windowsill of Kurama's room, Hiei glared at nothing outside, barely listening to the woman speak.

"-And then, we made it to the portal. I, of course, sensed something strange going on," Hiei grunted in the background as she continued, "From what I was able to gather, whoever is causing all this is collecting the souls of both humans and weaker demons and... doing something with them and the portals. I, well, we, ummm-"

"Hn. She got us caught and we weren't able to get more information than that. She then whined and whined until we came here. Which is fine with me, the faster this is over, the faster I get away from her."

Pouting, Botan looked over at him, "Hey! That's not very nice, Hiei. I thought we made a smashing team!"

"What team? I did everything."

Before Botan could reply and an argument between them broke out, Yusuke looked back and forth between the two and shook his head, "So you mean to tell me that Koenma has forced you two to work on some dumb ass case together for the past two weeks?"

Nodding, Botan tilted her head to the side and asked, "Yes, why do you ask, Yusuke? That's what I've been telling you this whole time!"

"HIEI AND BOTAN SITTING IN A TREE, K-I-S-S-I-N-G!" He shouted, falling back to the floor and cracking up with Kuwabara who whiped at his eyes while laughing, "Get it? 'Cause Hiei likes trees so much!"

Botan promptly knocked the both of them out with her bat while Hiei growled and opened Kurama's window, jumping out as fast as possible to get away from the two idiots, his mood completely soured. And she wondered why he wanted nothing to do with them.


	32. Of Scary Beasts and Changes

Blah, yeah, real life shit got me down. Sorry for my terrible updating habits, I'll try and get my stuff together.

Prompt: Animal

* * *

**All in Due Time:** _Of Scary Beasts and Changes_

It had been very easy to get the Spirit Detectives back together to help Botan and Hiei. Yusuke, despite his complaints about Koenma getting him wrapped up in more of his stupid problems, had been getting bored and wrestless in the Human World. Kuwabara just wanted to be part of the group and make fun of Hiei for being short. Kurama, however, was curious.

Something was different about Hiei and Botan. He just was not sure when or how anything between them had changed. Hiei, though standing as far from the ferry girl as possible, periodically glanced her way to make sure she was not getting into trouble. He even threw in the occassional jab at her just to get on her nerves. Botan, for her part, was not afraid of him at all anymore. She even dared to poke him a while back, and Kurama held in a chuckle at the thought of the shocked look Kuwabara and Yusuke had adorned for the event.

Kurama's eyes flew to the left where Botan had been, startled out of his thoughts by her loud screeching, "AH, GET IT OFF, GET IT OFF, GET IT OFF! HIEI, KILL THIS BEAST! GET IT OFF MEEEEEE."

"Woman, if you would shut up and stop screaming like a harpy and stop flailing your arms all over the place, maybe I would kill it."

"JUST KILL IT!"

"Hn. If you don't shut up I'm going to leave it."

Hiding his smile, Kurama nodded to himself. Somehow a spider had fallen out of a tree and landed in Botan's hair, and in a panic she scrambled to remove it. Hiei smirked at her misfortune for a few more seconds before taking his sword and skillfully manuevering it under the spider, lifting it up and flinging it to the side.

Yes, things were certainly different.


	33. Acts of Kindness

Ugh, again, life has prevented me from updating. Forgive meee and don't let my terrible updating schedule scare you away! I'm trying. And I still have a new idea in the works, I just need the time to commit to it. Plus I really need to get back on track with this.

Prompt: Automatic

* * *

**All in Due Time: **_Acts of Kindness_

Kuwabara scratched his chin, watching Hiei and Botan as the gang set up camp for the night. Something was off. This was just weird. Of course, Hiei was always weird, but this time was different. Botan was acting weird too. Maybe she was stuck on this mission with Hiei for too long and she was becoming immune to his evil jerkness. She actually seemed as if she liked Hiei or something! But that's not possible, because nobody but Kurama actually liked Hiei! And that's probably because they're secretly gay together; and Kuwabara seriously hoped Hiei was the one taking it. And taking a big one, to boot.

But that thought was instantly torn from his mind as something remarkable, something unthinkable, happened. No, this was just not possible! Kuwabara rubbed his eyes and blinked a few times to make sure he wasn't imagining things. No, no, he definitely saw it. Hiei wasn't in the same tree as before. This was just too messed up, even for him! Botan had just tripped over a stick on the ground, and he instantly fissured over to her and grabbed her collar, making sure she didn't fall, before jumping right back into another tree like it was the most natural thing in the world. Botan blinked, looking around, and shrugged, seeing nothing, and continued back to the camp fire. It had all happened in the course of about two seconds, but Kuwabara _knew_ he saw it.

Hiei just did something nice.

What the hell? He _had_ to tell Urameshi about this!

* * *

Nothing against yaoi, I swear! Just some silly humor. Drop a review please, I love to hear your thoughts. :)


	34. Male Bonding

Wow, you guys. The response from the last chapter was awesome, thank you. So I decided to get off my butt and update way early. Another long one. I wish I could keep these shorter, rawr, but I just love writing pervy, jerk Yusuke.

And yes, I agree, I can't wait for the romance to kick off either! It's just difficult with Hiei and Botan and as a drabble series, there's less content each chapter so I sort of had to start it off slow. As we can all see the feelings are there and festering, just... yeah.

Prompt: Sex

* * *

**All in Due Time:** _Male Bonding_

The sun had been down for hours, and the once bloody sky of the Demon World was now pitch black. No stars lit up the sky, and rustling bushes and far away howls were the deadly music of the night. Yusuke was currently on guard duty; in the middle of his shift, Kurama was next watch. However, he could see Hiei's crimson eyes glowing in the tree above the group, watching carefully for any signs of danger. It was never safe to let your guard down in the woods in Demon World, and he supposed Hiei knew this best.

Despite this, Yusuke grinned mischeviously and stood while stuffing his hands in his pockets, walking the few feet to Hiei's tree leisurely. He stood there silently for a few minutes, just smirking at the shorter demon, before Hiei finally glanced down at him, annoyed. Taking this as his queue, Yusuke went in for the kill.

"So."

The only answer he was met with was more ruslting bushes and howls in the distance. Okay, so maybe that went a lot differently in his head. But never fear, he's totally got this!

"You and Botan, eh?"

Once again, silence was his only reply.

"It's totally cool, man. I get it. Botan's a hot girl. You have needs, we all do. You and her, alone, in the woods together for two weeks? Shit happens."

Silence.

"...So was it good?"

Nothing.

"Heh. Dumb question, right? Botan acts all innocent but we totally know that deep down there's a wild sex kitten just waiting to be-"

"Hn, if you finish that sentence it will be your last, detective."

Smirking, Yusuke shut his mouth. Hiei was easy. Way too easy. Shrugging at the angry man in the tree, Yusuke leaned against the bark as if nothing had happened before continuing, "Yeah, but seriously now-"

"Don't speak of things that you know nothing about. Do yourself a favor and throw away your silly human notions of love and romance and rainbows and butterflies, because that is not what's happening here and it never will be. I don't care about anyone but myself, and it would do you all well to finally learn that."

"Yeah, yeah, tough guy. You act like you don't give a shit but we all know you do. Drop the act, it's total bullshit."

Met with silence once again, Yusuke figured the conversation was over. But that's fine, he got what he wanted. Getting up and walking over to his previous spot, Yusuke dropped to the ground and grinned. So Kuwabara was right. Hiei really was too easy.


	35. Not So Pleasant Feelings

So, expect this mission to wrap up pretty quickly. I had planned it differently but things changed and I really don't want to spend tons of chapters writing a mission when I could be taking this other places.

So you get a somewhat (not very) deeper look into Botan's character this chapter. Being a ferry girl can't just be rainbows and butterflies.

Prompt: Fresh

* * *

**All in Due Time: **_Not So Pleasant Feelings_

It had not taken the Spirit Detectives long to get back to the portal where Hiei and Botan had experienced their first encounter with the demons they were after. Between the four men, lesser demons were disposed of in ample time and information easily made it their way. This now left the five friends looking down into a dark, hot hole in the ground, the area around them burning and decimated from the destruction their fighting had caused. This hole supposedly housed the man they were all after. Kuwabara shivered and swore they were all walking into the first level of Hell, it was so hot. Hiei grunted and shoved past him, eager to get this over with, and the rest followed quickly.

Walking further into the cave-like hole in the ground, torches lit up the stone walls, and it became increasingly hotter with each step. Feeling nearly suffocated, the group walked on until Botan fell to her knees, shaking her head in her hands.

Frustrated, and not hot at all unlike the other four, Hiei picked her up by her collar, "Woman, we are not stopping. Get moving."

Botan made no move to remove herself from his grasp and shook her head again, "You don't understand! The spiritual unrest... these souls, they're rotting."

"Rotting?" Yusuke piped up, his voice coming out breathy from the intense heat. She nodded, Hiei finally setting her on the ground, "Yes, rotting. It's hard to explain. A fate worse than Hell, perhaps. Your soul just decays; it's agonizing. I can feel it."

The three men looked at her with sympathetic eyes as Hiei walked ahead. She sighed and followed Hiei, leaving them behind. They sympathize, but they don't understand. None of them did. Whatever was happening was just wrong; evil. She wouldn't wish it on anyone.


	36. Weak Link

Well, man issues, school, and the holidays have kept me from you all. But yay for vacation! Time to update. After this I'll get the Big Bang out, and possibly a Shika/Ino one-shot that I've had laying around for years that needs some editing.

I had a reviewer ask about Botan's participation in the case, and I would have messaged you but you should receive your answer here.

Prompt: Castle

* * *

**All in Due Time:**_ Weak Link_

Hiei glanced back at the group behind him, paying special attention to Botan dragging her feet and constantly wiping the sweat dripping off her brow. Annoyed, he turned his eyes to the path in front of him. She should be back in Enma's castle, going about whatever nonsense it is she usually does. This was no place for her; combat was no place for a ferry girl. She had no business being on this mission, despite her knowledge of portals and how they work. Koenma was a fool for sending her out into dangerous missions with Yusuke before, an even bigger fool for sending her on this one now. The woman would only hold them back; she would only hold_ him_ back, because instead of focusing on killing everything in site, now he could only focus on keeping her alive.

He heard her trip over some rock or another, possibly even her own feet, and growled before immediately turning on his heel and snapping at her, "Woman, get it together or go back. If you don't you'll get yourself killed or one of us killed. You're completely useless as you are now and I will not baby the weak link on the team."

Kuwabara moved forward to protest but Kurama stopped him with his arm, shaking his head. Hiei, however harsh, was right. Botan needed some tough love, if only to keep her safe. And she could handle it, they'd all seen the change in the dynamics between the two. The ferry girl's eyes widened for a second and glossed over with unshed tears before she quickly wiped at her eyes and nodded once, "I'll do my best, Hiei, you can count on me!"

Yusuke huffed and kicked at a stone on the ground, pushing through his friends, "Cool story! Since you guys are done your lovers' spat and all, can we go now? It's effing hot down here."


	37. The End of the Road

Ahh, sorrry. I've been waiting for a prompt that can inspire me and there hasn't been one yet, so I decided to just go on my own this time. Working on The Big Bang next!

Prompt: None this chapter!

* * *

**All in Due Time: **_The End of the Road_

Finally, after what seemed like hours down in the hot pit and quite a bit of slicing and dicing demon carcass, our favorite Spirit Detectives came to the end of their journey - or so they thought. There was a large, burning red crystal set up in the middle of the large open area of the cave, surrounded by a pile of dead bodies. Kuwabara gagged at the site and smell before getting a hold of himself and asking, "What the hell _is_ this? This is sick! Freakin' gross."

Botan shook her head sadly before walking over to the bodies and knealing down to examine them, "This crystal keeps the souls from leaving the dead bodies, meaning they will decay along with it. As I said, it's a spiritually painful process. Whoever is doing this is likely feeding off of the despair, as many demons do, to get stronger. I'm not sure what this has to do with the portals quite yet, though..."

"Hn. If you kept your big mouth shut while I was gathering information we would know that by now."

"Oh, hush! You were the one knocking everyone out before they even-"

Yusuke, hot and frustrated, interrupted the two, "Yeah, yeah. We heard all your crap before. What I wanna know is where is this stupid demon so we can finish this stupid mission already."

"He'll have to come back at some point to feed again, I suppose we'll just have to wait," Kurama said before sitting down and leaning against the wall of the cave.

"BUT IT'S SO HOT!" Yusuke wailed dramatically, and flopped to the ground next to him.


	38. Comfort

Yayy, an update on time!

Prompt: I've Got You

* * *

**All in Due Time: **_Comfort_

As they waited, Botan not so subtly shuffled over inch by inch to where Hiei was sitting. When she finally stopped at about a foot away from him, he glanced over at her for a second before turning away and saying nothing. He'd seen her shuddering out of the corner of his eye, certainly not from it being cold, but if she expected him to comfort her in some way, she could think again. Hiei scoffed; humans were so weak, "What do you want, woman?"

"Huh? Oh, nothing! Just... these poor souls. It's not right. And it gives me the heebiejeebies! I get terrible vibes from it."

"So destroy the crystal, let the souls go, and quit complaining."

Botan blinked and put her finger to her lips before looking over at the burning crystal, "Hmm, why didn't I think of that? That's actually a smashing idea, Hiei! But what if the demon finds out? That would be no good. Oh, but I can't let these poor souls keep suffering! And the demon will be weaker when he has no pain to feed on! Okay, I have to do it! But how could I possibly destroy it? Mmn, maybe I should ask Kurama, he would surely know... Hiei? Where did you go? How rude!"

Hiei had stopped listening half way through her rambling and walked to the crystal, stepping over the bodies without a care, and held his fist over the the crystal, dissipating the flame before smashing his hand down on it and crushing it once and for all.


	39. Not as it Seems

Sorry for being slow updating The Big Bang. I promise I'll get to it!

Prompt: appearances are decieving

* * *

**All in Due Time: **_Not as it Seems_

After destroying the crystal, the team waited and Yusuke groaned and groaned about the heat, before a large gust of wind blew through the cave, nearly blowing out all the torches. Yusuke thanked the high heavens for the temporary relief, but Kurama's eyes narrowed as he looked around, "There should be no wind under ground."

Botan gasped and scuttled behind the group, her wide eyes glancing around the now much darker pit. The demon was in there with them somewhere! She shuddered as she heard a dark laugh coming from behind her and spun around, but saw nothing. Blinking when she heard an angry snarl, she looked down and shrieked, nearly backing over Kuwabara while getting away from the demon. Kuwabara turned around to grouse about her running into him before looking down at what Botan was fearfully pointing at, and shrieked in laughter, "IT'S SHORTER THAN HIEI!"

The demon was small, but menacing looking, like something right out of a horror movie. Its whole body was covered in black scales, with long black hair running down its back. Talons razor sharp, ominous black eyes, and horns to boot. Evil literally radiated from its body, but what did the two spirit detectives care? The thing was 'hella tiny'.

"Wow, you guys made us come all this way to help you with _him_?" Yusuke cackled, bent over laughing and slapping his knee in amusement with Kuwabara.

The laughing stopped as the small demon's aura spiked to a huge level, pushing the detectives back, "You destroyed my crystal, I'll destroy you."


	40. Playing with Fire

I love your reviews, guys. You give me new ideas I didn't even consider and make me change some of my plans for the story. And you make me come back and finish things I would have given up on otherwise. I know it's been quite a few months since I've updated but I'm back and ready to get the next 20 or so chapters of this out of the way and finish!

Prompt: Provoke

**All in Due Time: **_Playing with Fire_

Yusuke sweatdropped and backed away from the demon, waving his hands in peace and shaking his head, "No need for that, Short Stuff. You don't wanna play with the big kids, you might get hurt."

Kuwabara continued to cackle some more as the demon grew angrier and the cave around them started to shake. Botan squeaked and ran back behind the boys, glancing over Kuwabara's shoulder to get a look at what was going on. Kurama sighed at his friends and stepped forward, trying to finally get down to the bottom of the case.

"Why are you harboring the souls of these humans? What is your purpose for all of this power?"

The demon, whose name they had not bothered learning, clenched his fists as rocks from the ceiling started to fall around him, "You don't know? The imbeciles from Spirit World didn't figure it out? I think it would be rather obvious by now. Once I have enough power to destroy the portals, all the demons who want to get through to the Human World would have no problem. The total and utter chaos would destroy it."

"That is the most uncreative thing I have ever heard," Hiei stated bluntly, hidden from view by the shadows of the cave. The demon turned on his heel to glare in the direction of Hiei, becoming increasingly irritated.

"You're all going to regret coming here when I get finished with you."

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And a really, really special thanks to Mystikoorime. While reviews always fuel the inspiratory fire, this wonderful girl goes out of her way to make sure I keep going and to check up on me.


	41. Incompetent

I think I may have lost a ton of you on my hiatus. D:

Prompt: NONE

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**All in Due Time:** _Incompetent_

"I doubt that," Yusuke snorted, walking up to the demon and flicking its forehead. Kuwabara cackled behind him, completely oblivious to the cave nearly collapsing around them. The demon grabbed Yusuke's finger and snarled, snapping it downward with a sickening crack. Yusuke barely managed to howl, "What the fu-," before he was tossed into the hard, searing hot wall of rocks behind him. Kuwabara instantly straightened and his spirit sword appeared in his hands, ready to slice the creepy little thing to bits. He charged forward and swung, but the demon merely chuckled and stepped aside. Kuwabara fell forward, and the demon elbowed him in the back as his momentum had him passing by. The orange haired man crashed down into the ground, creating a hole the shape of his body a few feet into the stone; he was clearly out of commission for the rest of this fight.

Kurama, seeing his friends down and out, whipped into action - literally. Drawing his rose whip, he gracefully swung towards where the demon was standing, his hair billowing behind him. Snorting, the creature snapped his fingers and Kurama's silky hair immediately set on fire. This was almost too easy. Kurama now too busy trying to save his precious locks, Hiei stood up from the corner; he clearly had to end this since his fellow "detectives" were embarrassingly incompetent.


	42. Accidents Happen

I need to thank everyone who has reviewed, favorited, and followed this story during my down time. I forgot to last chapter and I just want you guys to know I really appreciated it, and it inspired me to come back and write more. I am truly surprised by the amount of love you guys have shown this story. Thank you very, very much!

Prompt: Oops

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**All in Due Time:** _Accidents Happen_

Botan watched in dismay as her friends were all so quickly defeated by the small creature. Biting her nails in worry as Hiei emerged from his corner to battle, she cursed herself for not being more useful. If only she could do something to help! With that thought in mind, she knealt by Yusuke's searing hot body due to the temperature of the floor and used what spirit energy she could to aid his recovery. She kept her eyes on Hiei's blurred form and the demon as they flitted around the room, echos of Hiei's katana ringing through despite the loud crashes of the rocks around them. She couldn't see much of what was happening until Hiei's body crashed to the ground and he did not move from his spot.

Gasping, Botan quickly got up and started running over to him, failing to notice the small demon at her feet as she went. Tripping over something small on her way, she nearly fell but managed to catch her balance. Turning around to check what had caused her near fall, she saw the black and scaley creature struggling to push off the scalding floor.

"Oopsies! I'm sorry, I really didn't mean-"

Her words were cut off as a piece of rock nearly twice her size fell from the ceiling right on top of the demon.

"Oh dear.."


	43. Trick Up My Sleeve

I have to say, this was probably my favorite chapter to write so far. I can't help but love torturing these four!

Prompt: Magic

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**All in Due Time:** _Trick Up My Sleeve_

Botan hummed happily as she practically skipped into Koenma's office, her ponytail bouncing up and down with the pip in her step, the rest of the Spirit Detectives following dejectedly behind her. None of them spoke or looked at each other, unwilling to so much as mention the fact they were shown up by the bubbly ferry girl in a battle. How shameful. How humiliating. How- how was it even possible?!

Yusuke sighed and ran a hand through his geled hair before pushing the door to the office open, the bluette already way ahead of them. Hiei grunted and followed him in, taking up residence in the corner of the room as Kuwabara and Kurama piled in behind their friends. It seemed Botan was already half way through her explanation of the mission when they entered.

"-and after they were all beat to a pulp, I finally knew I had to charge in and take action before it was too late, defeating the little menace and saving the day! Now our boys are safe, the souls of those poor humans have been set free, and the portals are all in order again."

Looking sternly at the four men behind his top ferry girl, Koenma sucked furiously upon his pacifier before looking back at her and asking, "But Botan, how did you manage to stop the demon all by yourself?"

Kuwabara groaned as Yusuke threw his hands up in the air, and Kurama just shook his head while Hiei glowered at the chipper woman as she turned to wink at the chagrined men, "Oh, you know, just a few tricks I had up my sleeve!"


	44. Waiting Game

Prompt: Minions

**All in Due Time:** _Waiting Game_

Hiei grunted in annoyance as he pushed through the crowd of ogres and ferry girls in the halls, baring his teeth at any Spirit World minion that bumped into him and keeping the smirk of satisfaction off his face as they scampered away in fear. The detectives had already said their goodbyes and made promises to meet up soon, leaving Hiei alone in this awful world to confront the ferry girl. Although, he supposed it was less of a confrontation and more of a.. something else. The fire demon hardly knew what he was doing with the woman or why he bothered.

Reaching her room and easily breaking the lock on the door without a care, Hiei strolled in and sat upon the edge of her pink and white bed, waiting for the chipper girl to hurry and finish a task she was given by the Toddler Prince before returning to her room. Paper work or something else useless of the sort. Sighing, he laid his head on the plump cushions of her pillows while she took forever to finish her meaningless work.

Finally, nearly 45 minutes later she returned, her amethyst eyes widening as she glanced at the sinister man on her bed, "Oh, I didn't think you would still be here, Hiei. Was it truly necessary to break my lock? You already owe me a communication mirror, you know."

As if he'd ever pay anyone back for something he broke.


	45. An Admission

Welcome back, guys! I have some fun ideas for this story that I can't wait to get to, so hopefully I can push through these next few chapters quickly and get to the good stuff.

Prompt: Lock

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** All in Due Time:** _An Admission_

The demon and ferry girl stared silently at each other, one bored and the other unsure, locking crimson and pink eyes. Botan shifted uncomfortably under his scrutiny and looked away before clearing her throat, "It's alright, the lock won't be hard to replace. Koenma will have it done for me in a jiffy."

"Hn."

"Is that all you want to say? You must be here for something," she huffed, moving towards Hiei and pushing his dirty boots off of her pristine blankets before plopping down at the end of her bed. The tempermental man scowled as she did this, finally noticing how comfortable she had become with him. Not an ounce of fear, despite their awkwardness. He knew that he held no animosity towards her anymore and was somehow drawn into her cheerful demeanor, and that she considered him her "friend" (it was all he could do not to gag at the word), but Hiei did his best to ignore such things. Not to admit them was much easier. Being alone was easy for him. Natural. Alone was his way of life until he got mixed up with Kurama and then Yusuke. Now he had people he cared about whether they lived or died. And somehow, this clumsy and way too happy deity wormed her way into his life and became one of those people.

Annoyed that she forced him to realize such things when he was more than happy to hide it, he stood up from her airy bed and sent a glare her way, "Hn. I'm leaving."

"What? You didn't even tell me why you're here!" And with that, he disappeared from her room, leaving her as she sat confused on her bed. Botan narrowed her usually jovial eyes at where he had been standing. Clenching her fists into her blankets, she made sure to telepathically send a _YOU JERK!_ his way and hope he heard it before flopping back and sighing at her ceiling. He was so hard to understand sometimes.

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**Reviews make me happy!**


	46. Stray Thoughts

Sorry guys, I'm back! I have quite a few places I want this story to go to and I'm hoping I can get a few chapters pumped out within the next week so we can finally get to the stuff I'm really excited to write.

Prompt: Serve

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**All in Due Time:** _Stray Thoughts_

Botan sighed and stretched her arms high above her head as she kicked the door to her room shut with her foot. She felt completely worn out after a long day of ferrying souls, and a small scowl came over her face as she heard the "click" of her door. It had been a few months since Hiei had returned to Demon World and the lock on her door had only just been fixed a couple of days ago. Not only could she not lock her room for so long, but it was a constant reminder of the grumpy fire demon and the fact he had annoyed the heck out of her and that he was gone once again. Botan had gotten quite used to his blank and irritated demeanor while they were working together. She sort of missed it.

Of course she missed all of her friends, though! Hiei was no different than any of them, right? Right! No different at all. He was just mean, and grumpy, and a loner, and short, and strong, and loyal, and fit, and warm, really warm...

Blushing and fanning herself as Botan let her thoughts run rampant, she shook her head to clear it and sighed once again. She'd been thinking these things so much lately! Surely she couldn't be attracted to that rude little jerk who liked to break her things and call her names? But this is what Keiko said happens when you have feelings for somebody.

"AHA! Keiko. Keiko, _exactly_! I need to go see Keiko. I have to figure out what is wrong with me," she mumbled to herself as she quickly dressed in her human clothes and ran out of her room. Hopefully Koenma wouldn't mind if she took a day or two off.


	47. Girl Talk

Prompt: Busy

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**All in Due Time:** _Girl Talk_

Keiko squinted at her friend from across the small table in Genkai's temple, the sun making it hard to see the blue haired woman as it filtered in through the open shoji doors. Botan had frantically burst into Keiko's workplace asking if they could meet as soon as possible today. Of course she had said yes and cleared her work schedule, offering to meet the ferry girl here at the temple so they could see Yukina and Shizuru, whom was visiting the petite demon today also. So here they sat, Botan fidgeting on the other side of the table as she vented about "stupid jerks like Hiei" and also explained her problem.

Botan was lucky that Shizuru was in the kitchen preparing tea with Yukina, because Keiko was having a hard enough time not giggling at the poor woman, and she was sure Shizuru would have burst out laughing by now. By some crazy twist of fate, her bubbly friend and the broody demon had been forced into being near each other and now their opposing personalities ended up attracting like magnets, but they had no idea what was going on! It was like something out of one of her favorite romance novels. She almost wouldn't believe this was happening if it hadn't all come right from Botan's blabbering mouth. Speaking of which, the confused girl was still rambling on.

"Botan."

"And I just don't know what to think. I mean, perhaps I should ask Koenma if somebody could have brainwashed me or-"

"_Botan_!"

"I'm sorry, what were you saying Keiko?"

"You like him."

"I what? Hiei? Of course I do sometimes, he's a swell guy. When he's not trying to kill everything in sight and-"

"No, Botan, you have a crush on him! You _like_ like him."

Keiko rushed over to Botan as her eyes rolled into the back of her head and she fell over to the floor. She had hoped the ferry girl would have taken the news a little better than that.


	48. Girl Talk Continued

Hello, guys! I'm happy to be getting this next chapter out this week. It's a bit long but I didn't want to cut the content into a third chapter

Prompt: Flow

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**All in Due Time:** _Girl Talk Continued_

Botan blinked as she was shaken awake by a worried looking Keiko, rubbing her eyes to clear her vision and propping herself up on her elbows, "Oh, I had the worst dream! I dreamed I was telling you about Hiei and you actually thought I had a crush on him. What a nightmare! I'm so glad I woke up."

"Botan, you weren't dreaming. I did tell you that," Keiko replied, rolling her eyes and shifting back to the other side of the table so her airhead of a friend could get up. Tucking her air behind her ears, she readied herself for the denial that Botan was sure to be feeling.

"B-but that's impossible! Ludicrous! Me and Hiei? Not unless pigs fly and all three worlds freeze over. We would never work. I annoy him and I'm a blabbermouth, and the only thing he gets along with is his sword because it doesn't have a mouth and kills things. I'm tall and he's short. I'm happy and he's grumpy. I'm light and he's dark. It would just never work and that's final," the ferry girl huffed and turned her nose up before taking a sip of her lukewarm tea.

Shaking her head at the oblivious woman, Keiko smiled before telling her, "It doesn't matter if it wouldn't work. You still like him. That's why you miss him and keep thinking about him. It's pretty obvious and you just don't want to admit it to yourself. For a snoopy ferry girl who likes to meddle in everyone's relationships, you should know the signs. Why is it such a bad thing? He seems to have warmed up to you as far as Hiei goes, and he's not bad looking. For all we know he could feel the same way."

As Botan was about to protest some more, Yukina and Shizuru walked into the room with more tea and some snacks. Yukina's eyes lit up as she saw the other blue haired woman, she set her tea tray down and pulled a small box from her kimono, gently pushing it into Botan's hands, "Mr. Hiei left this a few weeks ago before returning to Demon World. He asked me to give it to you the next time you came by."

Her eyes wide as she looked down at the box in her hand, Botan blushed slightly as Keiko nudged her arm and told her to open it. Slowly pulling the top off of the small box, she gasped quietly as she stared at the contents. Inside was the communicator Hiei had crushed when she had been stuck in Demon World. But it wasn't crushed anymore, everything about it was perfectly in place. How had he managed to get it? And why had he given it back to her fixed? He would never pay anyone back for something he broke.

"See? Why don't you just stop fighting it and see what happens?" Keiko smirked as Botan continued to stare at the box in wonder.

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Just for clarification, in chapter 44 Botan mentioned that Hiei still owed her a communicator after he broke her lock, and it was noted that he never paid anyone back for something he broke. And yet, here's her fixed communicator. Also, as for the prompt, in the chapter I interpretted it as 'go with the flow', which Keiko basically tells Botan to do at the end. Thanks for reading!


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